Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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166. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of reports commissioned from firms (details supplied) in 2018; the firm that completed each report; and the cost of each report. [7173/19]

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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167. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of consultants from firms (details supplied) contracted to perform work in 2018; and the amount spent on consultants from each firm. [7190/19]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 166 and 167 together.

My Department administers a very diverse, complex and technical brief across critical and strategic sectors of the Irish economy. While it has a total complement of around 396 full time equivalent staff of whom a number are technical personnel, the technical, commercial, legal complexity and evolving nature of sectors with which the Department deals requires access to external professional expertise to assist in discharging its functions. In procuring these specialised services, my Department always seeks to ensure value for money and that these services contribute to project delivery and informed, robust and evidence based policy making.

Details of external consultants reports commissioned and also consultants contracted by my Department in 2018 from the firms in question are set out in the tables below.